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[404] νέποδες. According to Apollon. and Et. Mag. this word means ‘swimfooted,’ i. e. ‘web-footed,’ from “νέω, νήχομαι”. Other Gramm. interpreted it ‘footless.’ There seems a hint of this in Aristot. H. A. 1. 1. 9 “εἰσὶ τῇ φώκῃ κεκολοβωμένοι πόδες” , ib. 2. 1. 7 “ἡ δὲ φώκη ὥσπερ πεπηρωμένον τετράπουν ἐστί” . Eustath. ad loc. says, “νέπους κατὰ γλῶσσάν τινα ὁ ἀπόγονος”, though Apollon. writes, “τὸ δὲ ἀπόγονοι παράκρουσμα” (misinterpretation) “τῶν νεωτέρων ποιητῶν”. Cp. Cleon. Sic.apud Bergk (47) “βριαροὶ Γοργοφόνου” (i. e. Perseus) “νέποδες”, and Callimach. ap. Schol. ad Pind. Isthm. 2. 9 “ὁ Κεῖος Ὑλλίχου νέπους”, and Theocr. Idyl. 17. 25 “ἀθάνατοι δὲ καλεῦνται ἑοὶ νέποδες”. The word then is best referred to the root “νεπ”, seen in “ἀ-νεψ-ιός”, Lat. nep-os and nep-tis, Skt. nap-tar and napAt. (Curt. G. E. p. 241). Transl. ‘brood.’

ἁλοσύδνης seems better written with a small initial, as it is not so much a proper name as a descriptive epithet of Amphitrite. In Il.20. 207 it is used of Thetis. Lobeck quotes from Hesych. “ὕδναι” = “ἔγγονοι”. Curt. G. E. 578 supposes a form “σύ-δνη” = “συν”-j“η”, cp. Gk. “υ-ἱό-ς”, Skt. sUnus, ‘a son,’ from root su. Apoll. Rhod. 4. 1599 calls the Nereids “ἁλόσυδναι”, and Callimach. gives one of the Nereids the name “Ὑδατοσύδνη”. Schmidt J. connects “ὕδνη” with un-da (for ud-na).

Homer's Odyssey. W. Walter Merry. James Riddell. D. B. Monro. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1886-1901.

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